In recent years, the mainstream of a streaming service on the Internet has been over the top video (OTT-V). For example, moving picture experts group-dynamic adaptive streaming over hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) (MPEG-DASH) (referred to as DASH below) has started to be widely used as a basic technique of the OTT-V.
In the DASH, for example, media presentation description (MPD) as metadata including attribute information to optimally select streams having different characteristics from the same source is informed from a server which distributes a stream to a client which receives the stream. The client realizes a network environment adaptive type streaming by using the MPD (for example, refer to Non-Patent Document 1).
That is, in the DASH, the server prepares a plurality of streams having different image quality and image size according to communication environment of a distribution path, the capacity and the state of the client, and the like as the same content.
On the other hand, the client adaptively selects a stream which can be received by the client and which is suitable for the capacity of the client (decode capacity and the like) from among the plurality of streams which is prepared by the server. Then, the client receives the stream and reproduces it.
In the DASH, the metadata which is referred to as the MPD and is used to reproduce and control the content is distributed from the server to the client so that the client can adaptively select and receive the stream.
In the MPD, a uniform resource locator (URL) as an address of a segment (media data such as Audio/Video/Subtitle) which is obtained by dividing the content is written. The client transmits an http request to a (web) server to be a distribution source of the content based on the URL and the like written in the MPD and receives and reproduces the segment which is distributed by the server according to the http request by unicast.